Circles of Support and Accountability - Interim report [PDF ... - Quakers

would otherwise be unavailable. However, the Core Member has to be an equal with other Circle
members, fully involved in every discussion and decision taken by the Circle. All Circle members
are fully aware that accountability is only truly meaningful if the Circle is based on honesty. The
relationship between the Circle and its partnership agencies (Police and Probation) allows this
honesty to enhance the safety and well being of the Core Member. It can avoid negative
conclusions such as licence revocation, through constructive and supportive intervention.
Can a programme developed in Canada work in Britain?
The concept of Circles of Support & Accountability has been operating in Canada for the past ten
years. The Canadian Evaluation highlights the dramatic impact the programme has had on rates of
recidivism in relation to high risk, high need sex offenders. Doubts have been and continue to be
expressed as to whether the Canadian concept of Circles could work in Britain. In Canada, Circles
evolved as a community response to a community fear. In Britain, Circles is a Home Office funded
pilot programme. However, as in Britain, the philosophy of Canadian Circles has always been
concerned with public protection, and to achieve their aim they too have had to establish
relationships with local Police and Parole/Corrections authorities. The Evaluation report of
Canadian Circles states: ‘Some had been involved with Parole and the Police for a long period and
already had strong connections. In each case, especially over time, relationships grew strong,
allowing Circles of Support and Accountability to become important partners in the community’.
This partnership has now been further formalised with funding for Circles of Support and
Accountability being secured from the Correctional Services of Canada. This having been said, it is
important not to forget that both in Canada and in Britain, the volunteers who make up a Circle
are there not only to hold the Core Member accountable but also to act as a support and to work
in advocacy roles on behalf of the Core Member. Therefore Circle volunteers need to share a
commonality of thought. That commonality needs to be a strong belief in the principles of
restorative justice. Volunteers also need to be mature empathic people with the ability to separate
the offender from the offending and have a desire to be part of constructive initiatives to protect
our communities from further sexual crime.
Why is a partnership with Police & Probation helpful?
Thames Valley Police’s investment in restorative justice has been substantial both financially and in
practice, and it is this investment that has helped lay the foundations for the successful
development of Circles in this particular geographical area. In an attempt to make the Sex
Offender Register a meaningful and helpful tool, the Thames Valley Police ensured that the role of
the Sex Offender Registration Officer was both helpful and supportive to the registered offender
while continuing to monitor and maintain community safety. The thinking behind such an
approach was to engender a relationship of trust between the officer and offender that would help
reduce re-offending. This led to a significant change in the attitude of both Police and offender, to
the point where the Sex Offender Registration Officer was more often than not identified as a key
support in the offender’s own relapse prevention plan. This combined with a multi-funded, multidisciplinary
approach to the provision of sex offender treatment in the Thames Valley area has
produced a cultural change in those key agencies responsible for the management of sex offenders
living in the community. Those persons committed to not re-offending and building a positive
‘new life’ are supported by those agencies in achieving this. Because both Police and Probation are
partner agencies with Circles of Support & Accountability in the Thames Valley and are
represented on the programme’s steering committee, they are well aware of and supportive in
helping manage the inherent tensions between support and accountability.
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